Swedish American Pseudonyms: One Aspect of the Swedish Immigrant Literacy Tradition

SWEDISH AMERICAN PSEUDONYMS:
ONE ASPECT OF THE SWEDISH
IMMIGRANT LITERARY TRADITION
EMORY LINDQUIST
The annals of literary history include extensive usage of
pseudonyms by a wide variety of authors. Charles Dickens
is identified with B o z , Samuel Clemens with Mark Twain,
Mary Ann Evans with George Eliot, Mme. Dudevant with
George Sand, and Gustaf Fröding with Hans Sax and A k s o n .
The reasons for the use of pseudonyms are varied. Anony­mity
might be advantageous for political, social, or personal
reasons, uncertain literary adventures might be helpfully
concealed behind unknown names, or the satisfaction of
deceiving the public or friends might be a factor.
The Swedish American literary and journalistic tradition
contains hundreds of identifiable pseudonyms and a large
number that have been lost in the obscurity caused by the
passing years. The first systematic study of Swedish Amer­ican
pseudonyms was presented by Oliver A. Linder (1862-
1939) in ten issues of Nya V e r l d e n published at Story City,
Iowa, between August 7-October 3, 1891. Linder identified
79 authors with 129 pseudonyms. His list is representative
of various segments of Swedish American literary endeav­ors.
Linder heads the list numerically with seven as the
number of pseudonyms associated with him. B. E. Höckert
and Ville Åkerberg have five each, and four are attributed
to Jakob Bonggren, F. A. Lindstrand, Carl A. Swensson, and
Gustaf Wicklund. The largest number of writers are identi­fied
by one pseudonym.
The first author presented in Linder's list is Ernst Skar-
148
stedt (1857-1929). He had used the pseudonym L i b e r in
Svenska-Amerikanaren, 1879-1880, and Allvar in the K a n s ­as
Stats-tidning, a weekly newspaper which he published
jointly with Emil Lundqvist in Lindsborg, Kans., for a brief
period in 1879-1880. He often used the mark, E.SDT. in
contributions to various Chicago Swedish newspapers. How­ever,
Skarstedt generally used his full name rather than
pseudonyms or other markings.
The current knowledge of Swedish American literary his­tory
is based primarily upon the thorough and complete
volumes of Ernst Skarstedt, and included in the cultural
legacy that he has given to succeeding generations is his
great interest in identifying pseudonyms. Skarstedt has
made an outstanding contribution to the knowledge of
Swedish American literary achievement through his vol­ume,
Våra Pennfäktare (1897), and through the enlarged
edition, Pennfäktare (1930). This brilliant and unique per­son
was not only a fine literary historian, but also an ex­cellent
poet, a master of prose, and a stimulating editor and
journalist. He was the author of a fascinating autobiogra­phy,
Vagabond och Redaktör (1914), covering his first dec­ade
in America, several historical works, many essays, hun­dreds
of newspaper articles, and a large number of poems.
Skarstedt ranks at the top of the Swedish American literary
tradition. This article is indebted primarily to his volume,
Pennfäktare (1930), and is presented as a modest tribute
to a unique and creative person.
Although Oliver A. Linder initiated the formal study of
Swedish American pseudonyms, Ernst Skarstedt has left the
most important legacy. His fine volume, Pennfäktare (1930)
identified 445 pseudonyms involving 244 authors. Biograph­ical
sketches and commentaries of 524 Swedish American
literary and journalistic personalities are presented. The
earlier volume, Våra Pennfäktare (1897), includes valuable
resources in the rather extensive citation of representative
examples of the poetry of the authors who are listed.
149
Skarstedt's identification of pseudonyms constitutes a re­markable
collection. Scholarly interests and a high sense of
curiosity, as well as broad knowledge of literary develop­ments,
made possible this fine achievement. Skarstedt re­corded
in the preface to Våra Pennfäktare (1897) his great
indebtedness to Oliver A . Linder, who had published a se­ries
of brief articles on the subject in 1891 as indicated
above. Skarstedt's appreciation for Linder's pioneer work
as a literary historian is shown clearly in the inscription on
the fly-leaf of Våra Pennfäktare (1897) which the author
presented to Linder with these words: "To my old friend
Linder, with heartfelt thanks for real acts of friendship,
which I will not soon forget."
In addition to the pseudonyms found in Linder's articles,
and more especially in Skarstedt's, Pennfäktare (1930),
several other sources have been used in this study. The
Oliver A. Linder Collection in the Denkmann Memorial L i ­brary,
Augustana College, Rock Island, 111., contains copies
of the publications, B r o d e r Lustig, 1896-1897, and Iduna,
1897-1899. Fortunately for searchers interested in pseudo­nyms,
Linder had identified in his own handwriting the
pseudonyms and markings cited in some articles and poems
in both periodicals. Additional sources were found in such
well-known volumes as Alfred Söderström, Blixtar På Tid­nings-
Horisonten (1910), Bernhard Lundstedt, S v e n s k a Tid­ningar
och Tidskrifter Utgivna Inom Förenta Staterna
(1886), G. N. Swan, Swedish-American Literary Periodicals
(1936), Martin S. Allwood, A m e r i k a - S v e n s k L y r i k G e n om
100 År, 1848-1948 (1949), O. Fritiof Ander, The Cultural
Heritage of the S w e d i s h Immigrant (1956), Henriette C. K.
Naeseth, T h e S w e d i s h Theatre of Chicago, 1868-1950 (1951),
Joseph E. A. Alexis, L a Littérature Súedoise D ' A m e r i q ue
(1930), Otto Rob. Landelius, Nerkingar Som Borgare och
Äventyrare I Främmande Land (1936), J . Oscar Backlund,
A Century of the S w e d i s h A m e r i c a n P r e s s (1952), and oth­er
volumes. A variety of Swedish American newspapers
150
and periodicals furnished sources for building the list of
pseudonyms. Henry Bengston, Chicago author and editor,
has given substantial assistance in the preparation of this
article.
The hundreds of pseudonyms that are related to Swedish
American writers provide interesting and unusual variety.
A common pattern provides given names of American or
Swedish origin, although other national sources are also in­cluded.
A d a m , Carl, Dan, D i c k , Joan, and Victor are rep­resentative
of one category. A n d e r s , Göran, Gösta, Hjal­mar,
Ivar, Jonas, Olavus, Sigurd, Y n g v e , and Åke consti­tute
another classification. Some authors sought further
identification as in Samuel i Kallstorp and Natan af K o r ­pagård.
Gösta Berling also appears on the American scene
as a pseudonym. But Cavili, Conperolle, Raldieno, and Te­ofilus
also are found in the collection.
Some writers sought to be identified with pseudonyms
that were related to members of the family. The range here
is also extensive. The sources include Bror John and Broder
Nils, O n k e l Ola and M o r b r o r Mårten, Farbror Sven and
Farbror von S l o k u m , Tant Ulla and Moster E m m a , Sister
Benediction and Mor Britta. Then there is also, D e n Unge
G u b b e n and G u b b e n m e d Skåpet. It is difficult to place in
any category such pseudonyms as Myself and Ham self.
The Swedish immigrant writers were not lacking in imag­ination
when they selected pseudonyms. A selective listing
includes Konkelusius A b l a t i v u s , Cornelius Corncob, F l os
tiliae, P u t t e Fnask, Inoqtik A t a n o q k e n , R e m L a P e j , Zach­arias
Morgontupp, Odudintusan, Ormen lange, P e l l e Park,
Willie Peagreen, Quipson, Skrifklådig, Nidolf, O w e n le
S m o q u e , Skrällbom, Spelevinkus, and Pepin Telefonson. A
unique source is hidden in the pseudonym, A d e h o m D y r e ­tiw.
The name has its origin in the birthplace of its orig­inator,
Johan Gustaf Runesköld Banér, which was Witeryd
Moheda, spelled backwards. Some unusual names were
151
used by more than one author. Agapetus is identified with
three writers and Perigrinus was selected by two persons.
An interesting account related to pseudonyms is recorded
by Edward Sundell who was associated at different times
with several Swedish American newspapers and periodicals.
The setting for the incident was the appearance of a series
of fine poems in F r i s k y t t e n , published in Minneapolis, over
the signature of Agda Björk. This new synonym was used
by Ninian Waerner, well-known literary figure and one of
the editors of F r i s k y t t e n . Sundell, upon inquiry from
friends as to the identity of Agda Björk, unwittingly ad­dressed
a letter to his friend Waerner, seeking information
about the new author. Waerner replied that, "She is the
most talented woman I have ever met, in addition to being
good and beautiful like an angel. . . ." Waerner suggested
that it would be appropriate for Sundell to write to Agda
Björk, expressing appreciation for her fine poetry. Sundell
wrote to A g d a Björk, and soon received a brief but cordial
letter in a woman's handwriting. In a few days a fine por­trait
of an attractive brunette, supposedly Agda Björk,
reached Sundell. A letter then came to Sundell from Waer­ner
informing him that the latter had met A g d a Björk, and
he was forced to acknowledge that he was deeply ena­moured
of her. Waerner's wife reputedly was aware of this
infatuation, and she, like her husband, was allegedly dis­tressed
over the turn of events. Sundell was also disturbed
over these developments, and wrote a letter to Waerner,
urging him to abandon his affection for A g d a Björk. This
brought the episode to an end. Waerner, whose pseudonym
at that time, as indicated above, was A g d a Björk, read Sun-dell's
letter to Gustaf Wicklund, another in the circle of
well-known literary people, and to Waerner's and Wick-lund's
wives. There was great jubilation among them. Sun­dell
learned shortly thereafter about the hoax.1
1 Alfred Söderström, Blixtar På Tidnings-Horisonten. (1910), 243-
244. Friskytten was published in Minneapolis, 1891-1894.
152
The study of Swedish American pseudonyms shows that
their use varied with different types of publications and
with the era. For instance, K u r r e , an interesting humor
magazine published weekly, 1884-1887, in Chicago, included
in March and April, 1885, a variety of contributions by rep­resentative
authors who used pseudonyms. Well-known
signatures were P u t t e Fnask and Olle Bark (Oliver A. Lin­der),
Ragnar (Maurice J. Frenneson), Farbror and G . W.
(Gustaf Wicklund), Ninian and Odudintusan (Ninian
Waerner), Ville (Wilhelm Åkerberg), and A n d e r s o n (Ed­ward
Boyse). But others were also represented, ranging
from G u b b e n Noach and Janne to Giovani and X Y Z . The
weekly newspaper, Framåt (1887-1891), published succes­sively
in Lindsborg, Kansas City, and Chicago, provided
44 different pseudonyms or markings during a seven-month
period in 1889. Included were such well-known pseudo­nyms
as Ludvig (Ludvig Holmes), Leopold (Carl A. Swens­son)
, Urbanus (Carl A. Evald), and O. O. (Olof Olsson).
Among other pseudonyms used in this period were A . P l e ­beian,
Nannie, Surtep, A u g u s t , Jöns, Marcellus, Barnvän,
Sigge Sparre, and F r u s e n .
An excellent portrayal of Swedish American literary in­terests
is found in Ungdoms-vännen, published monthly in
Rock Island, 1902-1918. A study of the use of pseudonyms
in this periodical shows that in the issues of 1903, 1908, and
1913, separated by five-year intervals, various types of con­tributions
carried pseudonyms or other distinctive mark­ings
of 105 authors. The distribution by authors, who often
were represented by several poems or articles was as follows:
1903, 49 pseudonyms; 1908, 57 pseudonyms; and in 1913, by
only 11 pseudonyms. Many popular authors using pseudo­nyms
shared in giving distinction to this fine periodical in*
eluding A i n a (Anna Olsson), Gustaf E - n (Gustaf Erik­son),
S . M . H . (S. M. Hill), L u d v i g (Ludvig Holmes), E .
W. (E. W. Olson), G. N . S . (G. N. Swan), C. A . S . (Carl
A. Swensson), Teofilus (C. A . Lönnquist), J. M . - n (Jules
153
Mauritzson), and F e l i x V i v o (Vilhelm Berger). Many oth­ers
were also found i n Ungdoms-vännen, including Ella,
Hilma, Hilda and Hjalmar, but also Jeremias i Tröstlösa,
P e t r u s B o n d e , Zimia, Joy, and Uno H o o .
A survey of the splendid volumes of Prärieblomman, pub­lished
annually from 1900 to 1913 in Rock Island (no vol­ume
was issued in 1901) shows that only three pseudonyms
were used in the thirteen volumes edited by Anders Schön.
Fredrik (Carl Fredrik Peterson) and A i n a (Anna Olsson)
appear on two occasions. F e l i x V i v o , the pseudonym of
Vilhelm Berger, is presented together with the author's real
name in connection with two articles. Prärieblomman pre­sented
contributors who can be identified as a "Who's Who"
in Swedish American literature, including Jakob Bonggren,
Oliver A. Linder, Ernst Skarstedt, Edward Sundell, Birger
Sandzén, Ludvig Holmes, Vilhelm Berger, Gustaf Wick­lund
and others. But by this time and in the nature of the
publication, pseudonyms were not common.
The volume of poems, essays, sketches, and short stories
in Bläckfisken, the yearbook of the Swedish Society of
Journalists in America, 1920-1921, presents an interesting
pattern relative to the use of pseudonyms. Eight of the
38 items are identified by other than the author's regular
name; one uses the author's name and his pseudonym. In­cluded
are Olavus (Oliver A. Linder), with two contribu­tions,
although a third carries his regular name. Cornelius
C o r n c o b (Johan Person) also has an article using his full
name. Jakob Bonggren is represented by an essay with his
full name, by a story under the signature of Spectator, and
by an essay identified with J . B . A sketch is presented by
Sigyn (Ludvig J. Lundgren). Erik G. Westman is identified
by an interesting pseudonym, E . D u b b e l j u , which pro­nounced
carefully produces the English sounds of the au­thor's
initials, E . W. A poem by C. T. Martin provides also
the identification o£ his pseudonym, Brynjulf Höst. Other
items were contributed by Old C r o w and E n Samlare.
154
The pattern varies also in the designation of authorship
of full length volumes. Ninian Waerner used the pseudo­nym,
C. A . Tolléen for his volumes, B r e v t e Ninian Waer­ner
från C. A . Tolléen (1899), I höst-och vinterkväll (1895),
and Pennstreck (1896). The delightful volumes by Anna
Olsson, Från Solsidan (1903) and E n Prärieunges F u n d e ­ringar
(1917), show a diverse pattern. The former is ident­ified
by A i n a , the latter carries the full name of the author.
C. A. Lönnqvist's first volume of poetry, Dikter (1907) uses
the pseudonym, Teofilus. His second delightful book of
poems, S u n d e t V i d Treskär och Andra Dikter (1917) pre­sents
his full name. Gustaf Sjöström's hilarious and fas­cinating
sketches Jan Olsons Äventyr (1892), based upon a
series of articles in Hemlandet, gives the information on the
title page that it was "written by Himself." The publisher
of the book, Pennteckningar och Reseskildringar (1898), a
collection of articles from Svenska Amerikanaren, provides
the well-known pseudonym, Onkel Ola, on the title page,
but provides on the opposite page the photograph and full
name of the author, F. A . Lindstrand. The sensitively writ­ten
poetry of A. A. Swärd in the volume, Vilda Blommor
Från Prärien. D i k t e r (1887) is identified only by - - r - .
However, when Carl G. Norman published his volume of
poetry, Emigrantens Sånger (1914), his full name appears
on the title page as well as the pseudonyms, Carl, Julius
Pihl, Carl Smålandson, and C. G . N .
Although a substantial number of Swedish American
writers used pseudonyms sparingly or not at all, the ma­jority
of the best known authors used several different sig­natures.
Jakob Bonggren, a well-known poet, has pointed
out that the extensive use of pseudonyms by Oliver A.
Linder was a handicap to him in identifying his fine literary
talents/ Linder used thirteen pseudonyms. The listing be-
2 Jacob Bonggren, "Swedish-American Literature," in Erik W. West­man
and K. Gustav Johnson, editors, The Swedish E l e m e n t i n A m e r ­ica
(1931), i n , 315.
155
low includes several of the outstanding Swedish American
literary figures who identified their writings by a variety of
pseudonyms. This listing constitutes one phase of a more
comprehensive listing of many hundred pseudonyms that
the author of this article hopes to make available in the
reasonably near future.
1. Banér, Johan Gustaf Runesköld (1862-1938)
Inoqtik A t a n o q k e n , A d e h o m D y r e t i w , Mikael Gal­tensvans,
Jernskog.
2. Bonggren, Olof Jakob (1854-1944)
J. B . , Jeremias Junior, Politikuss, Spectator, Spele­vinkus,
Volontaire.
3. Elmblad, Magnus Henrik (1848-1888)
M . E . , M . E - d . , M o v i t z , A n d e r s Nilsson.
4. Linder, Oliver A. (1862-1939)
Olle B a r k , Barkis, Fr. Borg, Conperolle, Putte Fnask,
L d r . , O . A . h - r , Unga Larson, Olavus, A . N . O . ,
Prisse, Raldieno, Vitus.
5. Lindquist, A. F. (b. 1861)
Kirderf, L u n k e n t u s , L - s t , Magnus, Kalle M u n t e r,
Skåning, - s t , - t .
6. Lindstrand, Frans Albin (1847-1913)
A l b i n , Observator, Onkel Ola, - n d .
7. Olson, Ernst Wilhelm (1870-1958)
E . Döbbelju, E . W. O . , Willie Peagreen, Pranks,
Quipson, Owen le S m o q u e , O . le S m o q u e , O . le S . ,
Trailing, E. W.
8. Schön, Anders (1864-1932)
A n d e r s , B o n d e B o n d e s o n , Erik Helsing, A. S .
9. Strömberg, Oscar Leonard (1871-1941)
Desidér, Leonardos, Oscar, L. S . , O . S - b - g , Leonard
S - g .
10. Swan, G. N. (1856-1938)
Chr., E n bokmal, Justus, Perigrinus, Quis senior,
S i o u x , G . N . S . , G . N . S - n , S., Turist, - w a - , X .
11. Waerner, Ninian (1856-1905)
A g d a Björk, Öfverste Jakobson, Zacharias Morgon­tupp,
Ninian, N - n , Odudintusan, C. A . Toléen, Vär­nor.
12. Wicklund, Gustaf (1852-1905)
Farbror, Festis, Fröjdelin, G u c k , Wis Guckland, G.
W., G u c k Wislund, Eric Wiman.
156

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SWEDISH AMERICAN PSEUDONYMS:
ONE ASPECT OF THE SWEDISH
IMMIGRANT LITERARY TRADITION
EMORY LINDQUIST
The annals of literary history include extensive usage of
pseudonyms by a wide variety of authors. Charles Dickens
is identified with B o z , Samuel Clemens with Mark Twain,
Mary Ann Evans with George Eliot, Mme. Dudevant with
George Sand, and Gustaf Fröding with Hans Sax and A k s o n .
The reasons for the use of pseudonyms are varied. Anony­mity
might be advantageous for political, social, or personal
reasons, uncertain literary adventures might be helpfully
concealed behind unknown names, or the satisfaction of
deceiving the public or friends might be a factor.
The Swedish American literary and journalistic tradition
contains hundreds of identifiable pseudonyms and a large
number that have been lost in the obscurity caused by the
passing years. The first systematic study of Swedish Amer­ican
pseudonyms was presented by Oliver A. Linder (1862-
1939) in ten issues of Nya V e r l d e n published at Story City,
Iowa, between August 7-October 3, 1891. Linder identified
79 authors with 129 pseudonyms. His list is representative
of various segments of Swedish American literary endeav­ors.
Linder heads the list numerically with seven as the
number of pseudonyms associated with him. B. E. Höckert
and Ville Åkerberg have five each, and four are attributed
to Jakob Bonggren, F. A. Lindstrand, Carl A. Swensson, and
Gustaf Wicklund. The largest number of writers are identi­fied
by one pseudonym.
The first author presented in Linder's list is Ernst Skar-
148
stedt (1857-1929). He had used the pseudonym L i b e r in
Svenska-Amerikanaren, 1879-1880, and Allvar in the K a n s ­as
Stats-tidning, a weekly newspaper which he published
jointly with Emil Lundqvist in Lindsborg, Kans., for a brief
period in 1879-1880. He often used the mark, E.SDT. in
contributions to various Chicago Swedish newspapers. How­ever,
Skarstedt generally used his full name rather than
pseudonyms or other markings.
The current knowledge of Swedish American literary his­tory
is based primarily upon the thorough and complete
volumes of Ernst Skarstedt, and included in the cultural
legacy that he has given to succeeding generations is his
great interest in identifying pseudonyms. Skarstedt has
made an outstanding contribution to the knowledge of
Swedish American literary achievement through his vol­ume,
Våra Pennfäktare (1897), and through the enlarged
edition, Pennfäktare (1930). This brilliant and unique per­son
was not only a fine literary historian, but also an ex­cellent
poet, a master of prose, and a stimulating editor and
journalist. He was the author of a fascinating autobiogra­phy,
Vagabond och Redaktör (1914), covering his first dec­ade
in America, several historical works, many essays, hun­dreds
of newspaper articles, and a large number of poems.
Skarstedt ranks at the top of the Swedish American literary
tradition. This article is indebted primarily to his volume,
Pennfäktare (1930), and is presented as a modest tribute
to a unique and creative person.
Although Oliver A. Linder initiated the formal study of
Swedish American pseudonyms, Ernst Skarstedt has left the
most important legacy. His fine volume, Pennfäktare (1930)
identified 445 pseudonyms involving 244 authors. Biograph­ical
sketches and commentaries of 524 Swedish American
literary and journalistic personalities are presented. The
earlier volume, Våra Pennfäktare (1897), includes valuable
resources in the rather extensive citation of representative
examples of the poetry of the authors who are listed.
149
Skarstedt's identification of pseudonyms constitutes a re­markable
collection. Scholarly interests and a high sense of
curiosity, as well as broad knowledge of literary develop­ments,
made possible this fine achievement. Skarstedt re­corded
in the preface to Våra Pennfäktare (1897) his great
indebtedness to Oliver A . Linder, who had published a se­ries
of brief articles on the subject in 1891 as indicated
above. Skarstedt's appreciation for Linder's pioneer work
as a literary historian is shown clearly in the inscription on
the fly-leaf of Våra Pennfäktare (1897) which the author
presented to Linder with these words: "To my old friend
Linder, with heartfelt thanks for real acts of friendship,
which I will not soon forget."
In addition to the pseudonyms found in Linder's articles,
and more especially in Skarstedt's, Pennfäktare (1930),
several other sources have been used in this study. The
Oliver A. Linder Collection in the Denkmann Memorial L i ­brary,
Augustana College, Rock Island, 111., contains copies
of the publications, B r o d e r Lustig, 1896-1897, and Iduna,
1897-1899. Fortunately for searchers interested in pseudo­nyms,
Linder had identified in his own handwriting the
pseudonyms and markings cited in some articles and poems
in both periodicals. Additional sources were found in such
well-known volumes as Alfred Söderström, Blixtar På Tid­nings-
Horisonten (1910), Bernhard Lundstedt, S v e n s k a Tid­ningar
och Tidskrifter Utgivna Inom Förenta Staterna
(1886), G. N. Swan, Swedish-American Literary Periodicals
(1936), Martin S. Allwood, A m e r i k a - S v e n s k L y r i k G e n om
100 År, 1848-1948 (1949), O. Fritiof Ander, The Cultural
Heritage of the S w e d i s h Immigrant (1956), Henriette C. K.
Naeseth, T h e S w e d i s h Theatre of Chicago, 1868-1950 (1951),
Joseph E. A. Alexis, L a Littérature Súedoise D ' A m e r i q ue
(1930), Otto Rob. Landelius, Nerkingar Som Borgare och
Äventyrare I Främmande Land (1936), J . Oscar Backlund,
A Century of the S w e d i s h A m e r i c a n P r e s s (1952), and oth­er
volumes. A variety of Swedish American newspapers
150
and periodicals furnished sources for building the list of
pseudonyms. Henry Bengston, Chicago author and editor,
has given substantial assistance in the preparation of this
article.
The hundreds of pseudonyms that are related to Swedish
American writers provide interesting and unusual variety.
A common pattern provides given names of American or
Swedish origin, although other national sources are also in­cluded.
A d a m , Carl, Dan, D i c k , Joan, and Victor are rep­resentative
of one category. A n d e r s , Göran, Gösta, Hjal­mar,
Ivar, Jonas, Olavus, Sigurd, Y n g v e , and Åke consti­tute
another classification. Some authors sought further
identification as in Samuel i Kallstorp and Natan af K o r ­pagård.
Gösta Berling also appears on the American scene
as a pseudonym. But Cavili, Conperolle, Raldieno, and Te­ofilus
also are found in the collection.
Some writers sought to be identified with pseudonyms
that were related to members of the family. The range here
is also extensive. The sources include Bror John and Broder
Nils, O n k e l Ola and M o r b r o r Mårten, Farbror Sven and
Farbror von S l o k u m , Tant Ulla and Moster E m m a , Sister
Benediction and Mor Britta. Then there is also, D e n Unge
G u b b e n and G u b b e n m e d Skåpet. It is difficult to place in
any category such pseudonyms as Myself and Ham self.
The Swedish immigrant writers were not lacking in imag­ination
when they selected pseudonyms. A selective listing
includes Konkelusius A b l a t i v u s , Cornelius Corncob, F l os
tiliae, P u t t e Fnask, Inoqtik A t a n o q k e n , R e m L a P e j , Zach­arias
Morgontupp, Odudintusan, Ormen lange, P e l l e Park,
Willie Peagreen, Quipson, Skrifklådig, Nidolf, O w e n le
S m o q u e , Skrällbom, Spelevinkus, and Pepin Telefonson. A
unique source is hidden in the pseudonym, A d e h o m D y r e ­tiw.
The name has its origin in the birthplace of its orig­inator,
Johan Gustaf Runesköld Banér, which was Witeryd
Moheda, spelled backwards. Some unusual names were
151
used by more than one author. Agapetus is identified with
three writers and Perigrinus was selected by two persons.
An interesting account related to pseudonyms is recorded
by Edward Sundell who was associated at different times
with several Swedish American newspapers and periodicals.
The setting for the incident was the appearance of a series
of fine poems in F r i s k y t t e n , published in Minneapolis, over
the signature of Agda Björk. This new synonym was used
by Ninian Waerner, well-known literary figure and one of
the editors of F r i s k y t t e n . Sundell, upon inquiry from
friends as to the identity of Agda Björk, unwittingly ad­dressed
a letter to his friend Waerner, seeking information
about the new author. Waerner replied that, "She is the
most talented woman I have ever met, in addition to being
good and beautiful like an angel. . . ." Waerner suggested
that it would be appropriate for Sundell to write to Agda
Björk, expressing appreciation for her fine poetry. Sundell
wrote to A g d a Björk, and soon received a brief but cordial
letter in a woman's handwriting. In a few days a fine por­trait
of an attractive brunette, supposedly Agda Björk,
reached Sundell. A letter then came to Sundell from Waer­ner
informing him that the latter had met A g d a Björk, and
he was forced to acknowledge that he was deeply ena­moured
of her. Waerner's wife reputedly was aware of this
infatuation, and she, like her husband, was allegedly dis­tressed
over the turn of events. Sundell was also disturbed
over these developments, and wrote a letter to Waerner,
urging him to abandon his affection for A g d a Björk. This
brought the episode to an end. Waerner, whose pseudonym
at that time, as indicated above, was A g d a Björk, read Sun-dell's
letter to Gustaf Wicklund, another in the circle of
well-known literary people, and to Waerner's and Wick-lund's
wives. There was great jubilation among them. Sun­dell
learned shortly thereafter about the hoax.1
1 Alfred Söderström, Blixtar På Tidnings-Horisonten. (1910), 243-
244. Friskytten was published in Minneapolis, 1891-1894.
152
The study of Swedish American pseudonyms shows that
their use varied with different types of publications and
with the era. For instance, K u r r e , an interesting humor
magazine published weekly, 1884-1887, in Chicago, included
in March and April, 1885, a variety of contributions by rep­resentative
authors who used pseudonyms. Well-known
signatures were P u t t e Fnask and Olle Bark (Oliver A. Lin­der),
Ragnar (Maurice J. Frenneson), Farbror and G . W.
(Gustaf Wicklund), Ninian and Odudintusan (Ninian
Waerner), Ville (Wilhelm Åkerberg), and A n d e r s o n (Ed­ward
Boyse). But others were also represented, ranging
from G u b b e n Noach and Janne to Giovani and X Y Z . The
weekly newspaper, Framåt (1887-1891), published succes­sively
in Lindsborg, Kansas City, and Chicago, provided
44 different pseudonyms or markings during a seven-month
period in 1889. Included were such well-known pseudo­nyms
as Ludvig (Ludvig Holmes), Leopold (Carl A. Swens­son)
, Urbanus (Carl A. Evald), and O. O. (Olof Olsson).
Among other pseudonyms used in this period were A . P l e ­beian,
Nannie, Surtep, A u g u s t , Jöns, Marcellus, Barnvän,
Sigge Sparre, and F r u s e n .
An excellent portrayal of Swedish American literary in­terests
is found in Ungdoms-vännen, published monthly in
Rock Island, 1902-1918. A study of the use of pseudonyms
in this periodical shows that in the issues of 1903, 1908, and
1913, separated by five-year intervals, various types of con­tributions
carried pseudonyms or other distinctive mark­ings
of 105 authors. The distribution by authors, who often
were represented by several poems or articles was as follows:
1903, 49 pseudonyms; 1908, 57 pseudonyms; and in 1913, by
only 11 pseudonyms. Many popular authors using pseudo­nyms
shared in giving distinction to this fine periodical in*
eluding A i n a (Anna Olsson), Gustaf E - n (Gustaf Erik­son),
S . M . H . (S. M. Hill), L u d v i g (Ludvig Holmes), E .
W. (E. W. Olson), G. N . S . (G. N. Swan), C. A . S . (Carl
A. Swensson), Teofilus (C. A . Lönnquist), J. M . - n (Jules
153
Mauritzson), and F e l i x V i v o (Vilhelm Berger). Many oth­ers
were also found i n Ungdoms-vännen, including Ella,
Hilma, Hilda and Hjalmar, but also Jeremias i Tröstlösa,
P e t r u s B o n d e , Zimia, Joy, and Uno H o o .
A survey of the splendid volumes of Prärieblomman, pub­lished
annually from 1900 to 1913 in Rock Island (no vol­ume
was issued in 1901) shows that only three pseudonyms
were used in the thirteen volumes edited by Anders Schön.
Fredrik (Carl Fredrik Peterson) and A i n a (Anna Olsson)
appear on two occasions. F e l i x V i v o , the pseudonym of
Vilhelm Berger, is presented together with the author's real
name in connection with two articles. Prärieblomman pre­sented
contributors who can be identified as a "Who's Who"
in Swedish American literature, including Jakob Bonggren,
Oliver A. Linder, Ernst Skarstedt, Edward Sundell, Birger
Sandzén, Ludvig Holmes, Vilhelm Berger, Gustaf Wick­lund
and others. But by this time and in the nature of the
publication, pseudonyms were not common.
The volume of poems, essays, sketches, and short stories
in Bläckfisken, the yearbook of the Swedish Society of
Journalists in America, 1920-1921, presents an interesting
pattern relative to the use of pseudonyms. Eight of the
38 items are identified by other than the author's regular
name; one uses the author's name and his pseudonym. In­cluded
are Olavus (Oliver A. Linder), with two contribu­tions,
although a third carries his regular name. Cornelius
C o r n c o b (Johan Person) also has an article using his full
name. Jakob Bonggren is represented by an essay with his
full name, by a story under the signature of Spectator, and
by an essay identified with J . B . A sketch is presented by
Sigyn (Ludvig J. Lundgren). Erik G. Westman is identified
by an interesting pseudonym, E . D u b b e l j u , which pro­nounced
carefully produces the English sounds of the au­thor's
initials, E . W. A poem by C. T. Martin provides also
the identification o£ his pseudonym, Brynjulf Höst. Other
items were contributed by Old C r o w and E n Samlare.
154
The pattern varies also in the designation of authorship
of full length volumes. Ninian Waerner used the pseudo­nym,
C. A . Tolléen for his volumes, B r e v t e Ninian Waer­ner
från C. A . Tolléen (1899), I höst-och vinterkväll (1895),
and Pennstreck (1896). The delightful volumes by Anna
Olsson, Från Solsidan (1903) and E n Prärieunges F u n d e ­ringar
(1917), show a diverse pattern. The former is ident­ified
by A i n a , the latter carries the full name of the author.
C. A. Lönnqvist's first volume of poetry, Dikter (1907) uses
the pseudonym, Teofilus. His second delightful book of
poems, S u n d e t V i d Treskär och Andra Dikter (1917) pre­sents
his full name. Gustaf Sjöström's hilarious and fas­cinating
sketches Jan Olsons Äventyr (1892), based upon a
series of articles in Hemlandet, gives the information on the
title page that it was "written by Himself." The publisher
of the book, Pennteckningar och Reseskildringar (1898), a
collection of articles from Svenska Amerikanaren, provides
the well-known pseudonym, Onkel Ola, on the title page,
but provides on the opposite page the photograph and full
name of the author, F. A . Lindstrand. The sensitively writ­ten
poetry of A. A. Swärd in the volume, Vilda Blommor
Från Prärien. D i k t e r (1887) is identified only by - - r - .
However, when Carl G. Norman published his volume of
poetry, Emigrantens Sånger (1914), his full name appears
on the title page as well as the pseudonyms, Carl, Julius
Pihl, Carl Smålandson, and C. G . N .
Although a substantial number of Swedish American
writers used pseudonyms sparingly or not at all, the ma­jority
of the best known authors used several different sig­natures.
Jakob Bonggren, a well-known poet, has pointed
out that the extensive use of pseudonyms by Oliver A.
Linder was a handicap to him in identifying his fine literary
talents/ Linder used thirteen pseudonyms. The listing be-
2 Jacob Bonggren, "Swedish-American Literature," in Erik W. West­man
and K. Gustav Johnson, editors, The Swedish E l e m e n t i n A m e r ­ica
(1931), i n , 315.
155
low includes several of the outstanding Swedish American
literary figures who identified their writings by a variety of
pseudonyms. This listing constitutes one phase of a more
comprehensive listing of many hundred pseudonyms that
the author of this article hopes to make available in the
reasonably near future.
1. Banér, Johan Gustaf Runesköld (1862-1938)
Inoqtik A t a n o q k e n , A d e h o m D y r e t i w , Mikael Gal­tensvans,
Jernskog.
2. Bonggren, Olof Jakob (1854-1944)
J. B . , Jeremias Junior, Politikuss, Spectator, Spele­vinkus,
Volontaire.
3. Elmblad, Magnus Henrik (1848-1888)
M . E . , M . E - d . , M o v i t z , A n d e r s Nilsson.
4. Linder, Oliver A. (1862-1939)
Olle B a r k , Barkis, Fr. Borg, Conperolle, Putte Fnask,
L d r . , O . A . h - r , Unga Larson, Olavus, A . N . O . ,
Prisse, Raldieno, Vitus.
5. Lindquist, A. F. (b. 1861)
Kirderf, L u n k e n t u s , L - s t , Magnus, Kalle M u n t e r,
Skåning, - s t , - t .
6. Lindstrand, Frans Albin (1847-1913)
A l b i n , Observator, Onkel Ola, - n d .
7. Olson, Ernst Wilhelm (1870-1958)
E . Döbbelju, E . W. O . , Willie Peagreen, Pranks,
Quipson, Owen le S m o q u e , O . le S m o q u e , O . le S . ,
Trailing, E. W.
8. Schön, Anders (1864-1932)
A n d e r s , B o n d e B o n d e s o n , Erik Helsing, A. S .
9. Strömberg, Oscar Leonard (1871-1941)
Desidér, Leonardos, Oscar, L. S . , O . S - b - g , Leonard
S - g .
10. Swan, G. N. (1856-1938)
Chr., E n bokmal, Justus, Perigrinus, Quis senior,
S i o u x , G . N . S . , G . N . S - n , S., Turist, - w a - , X .
11. Waerner, Ninian (1856-1905)
A g d a Björk, Öfverste Jakobson, Zacharias Morgon­tupp,
Ninian, N - n , Odudintusan, C. A . Toléen, Vär­nor.
12. Wicklund, Gustaf (1852-1905)
Farbror, Festis, Fröjdelin, G u c k , Wis Guckland, G.
W., G u c k Wislund, Eric Wiman.
156